Cloth expander



Dec l0, 1929.

Km i Dec. l0, 1929.

H. HADWIN CLOTH EXPANDER Filed Jan. 4, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 l] ld x W97/ kfw PTEN

HARRY HADWIN, oF ericsson, ENGLAND CLOTH EXPANDER Appiieation filed January 4, 192s, seriai'No'. 244,467, and in Great britain Februaryio, i927.

bored to receive an inner bush, which, in turn,

slidably lits the bar. Instead, however, of l the axis of the bush being co-axial with that of the iing, it is disposed at an angle thereto, so that when on the bar the ring lies at an aiigleto said bar. The several ring bushes yare bored at'dierent angles and keyed or 2o secured to the bar against rotation, so that the rings lie at gradually increasing yangles from the centre ofthe length of the bar to its est angle vto the bar vof each ring, lie in a common plane. ATo facilitate manufacture and assembling, there may be a vseries lof' rings, side by side, lying at the same-angle, followed by another series lying at a greater angle. Anti-frictionk bearings may be in- 3o troduced'between thef rings and their bushes. The rings are lpreferably all the same width and the circumference of each is reduced or rounded transversely, and, to cause Y the upper surface of the expander to be paral- E35 lel with the bar, the rings are made larger in diameter, singly, or in groups, towards the as to present everywhere a series of curved surfaces having substantially a common tan- Si0 gent at the surface of the expander.

With the foregoing arrangement of rings, a rubber or like sleeve may be provided, which will be properly supported throughout-itsV v J length by the rings, and have an expanding' "115 and contracting surface as it rotates with the rin s.

rlghe invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings showing one example thereof, in which: Fig. 1 is a part sectional elevation of one 'smaller thang'that of those half (partly 4broken away) of the improved expander.

Fig. 2 is a partsectional elevation (twice full size) ofa part of the expander.

Fig. 3 isa part sectional elevation of a i.. modifiedform of ring'and also shows a tapered spacing washer.

Figs. 4 and 5 are an outside elevation and a vsectional elevation `respectively of .i other forms of rings for use in building a scrimp rail.

Figs. 6 and 7 are. a plan and section yrev spectively showing a preferred method of producing kthe required tapered spacing washers. i a

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a is the central stationary bar -of the expander on which are arranged the expander rings b, b', mounted on bushes c, c, fitting on the bar a arranged at progressiveangles and engagingthe keys CZ, d on the bar. The bushes c each have a 4vdetachable flange c1 and yare built into the ends, and so that the diameters, at the great- I rings b enclosing two races of balls e, wherebythe ringsarerotatably supported on antifriction bearings on. the bushes. Between the bushes are` wedge-shaped spacing washers f and all the bushes are secured on the bar from the end by ,means 'of a wedge-shaped collar g'and end cover h. Therings b are recessed on tlieirside-faces for-lightness and are radiused on their circumferences. A rubber ysleeve j is provided over all the rings and securedto theend ringsby means -of a washer or plate-j1 and screws j? yA dustexcluding and: oil-retaining washer .7c is profvided on the bar between tlie""collar g and the ends ofthe bar, the radius also varying soW end ring. The radius on the circumference of the rings is made as flat as possible consistent with ensuring that the rubber ysleeve sh'all lie vtangentially r thereon, and not on s a-corner or edge,` and therefore,"the radius ofthe rings towards the'end's of lthe'baris near the 'centre of the bar. y

Asshown in Fign3, the ring maybe pro- 'vided' with a rubbertread m, vulcanized on the circumference and radiused in a similar manner `to the Arings for use witha rubber sleeve. Tlieserin'gsmay obviously be used alone, or with a rubber sleeve.

As shown in Fig. 4:,the oute1` circumfer# ence of each ring, while still retaining its radiused shape, may be provided with short pins b1 for use in'scrimp rails. Y

As shown in Fig. 5, the louter edge of the ring is reduced to leave a central web a, to each sidey of whichv are secured thin metal washers or plates 0 and lfurther washers or plates p with spacing washers Q, the-plates o and p standing out above the web p and spacing washers g, and their 'outer edges lying on trated, the expander comprises a bar a of round cross-section, some 60 incheslong and lg inches diameter. On the bar'are mounted the expanderrings b, rotatably mounted on rthe bushes c, the twov centre rings being mounted coaxially on the bar, while the other yrings (on each side) eaclflie in their own `plane of progressively increasing angles towards the ends of the bar, thebushes of the rings being slidably keyed or otherwise secured to the bar. f The rings are each in the form of a flatsided annulus about icl/2 inches diameter and 52g inch thick with rounded periphery and each'ringis rotatably mounted on its bush, bored diagonally to fit the shaft, the diagonal 'boring of the bushvvarying with the position of the ring along the bar. `Between the bush and its annulus are anti-friction bearings.

`'Ihe rings are arranged 1n groups orseries as follows: The rings ofeach series are of the same diameter and have the same circumfer# yential radius, but each ring has its own angle of inclination progressive in half degrees outwards from the centre of the bar.

. Radius ol Group Diameter transverse curvature c Inches Inches )to 6 degrees inclusive 4%6 6 te 10% degreesnclusive 41%: 1%5 11 to 14 degrees inlusive 4% M 14% to 17 degrees lnclusive. 41%:k 154e 17% to 19% degrees inclusiv 49h 20 to 21% degrees inclusive.-- 41%: 91e

Owing to the progressive nature of the ex` pansion and contraction of therubber sleeve,

f' due to the progressive angles of the rings,

Y. vsaid rings individually only take a small part esY of the total force required to stretch or compress the sleeve as a whole, and operate on the cloth in like manner.

The rings may be made of metal or wood, and they may be of even section, or of web or T section. In the space between the rings may be felt washers or other suitable means for retaining oil or lubricant for the bearings.

The expander will preferably be symmetrical about its centre, so as to give equal expansion of the material froml the centre but the Asame gradual expansion is obviously obtain-V able using say only one half (i. e. one end) of the expander, or the expander may be arranged to expand only on one side for stretching only one side of the material.

1When used for expanding cloth, the expanders will usually be mounted in a frame in groups so that the material'is bent to lie over that part Vof -the circumference of each ex- Y pander which is expanding, each succeeding expander adding to the expansion of the cloth. I y

What I claim is:

1. An expander forv expanding cloth or smoothingout fabrics and the like comprising a straight stationary bar, a plurality of flat sided rings and bushes and anti-friction bear# ings between the rings and their bushes, said bushes being threaded and keyed on to the bar 'and arranged at progressive angles to right and left of the Vcentre ofthe bar, wedge-shaped spacing washers between the bushes, Vand means at the end of the bar for clamping the bushes and spacing washers together on the bar, the peripheries of the Vrings being radiused to present a portion lying tangential Vto the eective surface of the expander and the diameters of the ringsincreasing towards the ends of the bar so that at the points of maximum expansion, the effective diameter ofthe expander is the saine throughoutits length,.as set forth. Y '2. 'In combination with an expander as loo claimed in claim A1, a close-fitting rubber sleeve 'Y enclosing the expander rings from end to end and rotating with the rings, asset forth. v

' In testimony whereofV I have signed my name to this specification. kHARRY HADWIN. 

